10/27/2009

What is the Ancient History of Sedona? Part 2

Sinagua Life

As is typical of modern humans, we underestimated the knowledge and technology of our predecessors by presuming that the Sinagua had little contact with other ethnic groups of the region. Not so. They participated in trade routes that stretched for great distances in the four directions. Traders dealt in cotton and clothing textiles, turquoise and precious stones, seashells used as coin and fashion items. Most impressive of all, routes extended south all the way into Mexico and Central America. The exotic feathers of macaws were brought from there, perhaps useful in the ceremonies of the Sinagua.

Dwellings of the Sinagua are found across the Verde Valley today. Sites include Tuzigoot, where three large pueblos sit on a ridge above the banks of the Verde River. West of Sedona are Palatki and Honanki, which feature dwellings nestled under impressive red rock cliffs. You can see ancient petroglyphs and pictographs here too. South of Sedona is the site known as Montezuma Castle, where a five-story, 20-room dwelling and a six-story, 45-room dwelling rest magnificently in white-gray limestone walls above Beaver Creek. This area also shows influences from the Hohokam, who lived primarily in the areas around modern-day Phoenix.

Movin’ On

The more one studies the history of the Southwest, the more one realizes that migration isn't just an important part of the story: It is the story. As ancient ones before them and modern Arizonans after them, the Sinagua migrated. In the middle of the 14th century, they moved away from their pueblos. Why they went remains controversial, but drought was one possible cause. We now know that a two-decades­ long period of reduced rainfall occurred that same time.

More recent evidence comes from another nearby site of importance, Montezuma Well. This natural spring was a source of water for the Sinagua, which they channeled as irrigation for their fields. Historians believe that the Sinagua left 20 years after irrigation from the Montezuma Well peaked. Richard D. Foust, Jr., Professor of Chemistry at Northern Arizona University has demonstrated that the well has high amounts of arsenic, nearly 20 times higher than recommended levels. Bones of animals that would have also been part of the Sinaguan's diet have been shown to have arsenic levels 100 times higher than normal.

Other Cultures

Migration was not nearly finished. From the north came the Apache and Navajo. From the south came the Yavapai, originating from Yuman-speaking peoples known as the Pai. Yavapai means "People of the Sun," and members of this tribe hunted and gathered in the region as early as 1300. In 1875, the cavalry marched hundreds of Yavapai people east to the San Carlos Reservation, where they lived and intermarried with the Tonto Apache. In the early 1900s their descendants were allowed to return to the Verde Valley. Many became farmers at the encouragement of the U.S. government, settling near the army's Fort Verde, in the heart of present-day Camp Verde near Sedona. The Yavapai-Apache have been one formal nation since 1934, and their reservation rests around Camp Verde and Clarkdale.